Retrofit of ISOFIX into a car without?

Scania · 30 Dec 2017 at 12:34

Had an interesting Christmas, I’ve discovered my daughter is six months pregnant!

Straight away I’ve gone into “I’m going to be a Grandad” mode, buying pipe & slippers etc

Anyway a serious concern has crossed my mind, I have a 2000 facelift 735i, I’m assuming it doesn’t have ISOFIX (child seat mountings) but have been googling and I can’t find a definitive answer to if it has ISOFIX or the retrofit question.

Does anyone know if an ISOFIX retrofit is possible and if so from whom, if not, what’s my best option for safe use of a child seat in the rear of my 735i?

Thanks.

johnny6 · 30 Dec 2017 at 12:43

Why don’t you check if it has isofix first. It’s just two rectangular loops of metal in the gap between the seat base and the seat back. Some cars got isofix in the 1990s

Also using the seat belt and a non isofix seat it a perfectly acceptable way of fitting a children’s seat, isofix is better yes but more from an idiots guide to fitting the seat correctly point of view.

paradigm · 30 Dec 2017 at 13:22

IIRC ISOFIX began being introduced in 1998, so as above, check first.

Kenai · 30 Dec 2017 at 13:41

ISOFIX is more of a 'quicker and easier' feature than safety related isn't it? Surely there's nothing inherently unsafe about belt-fixed seats, they're just more hassle to take in and out?

Jonnycoupe · 30 Dec 2017 at 14:45

Kenai said:
ISOFIX is more of a 'quicker and easier' feature than safety related isn't it? Surely there's nothing inherently unsafe about belt-fixed seats, they're just more hassle to take in and out?

Yep.

You can get the belt in bases that then offer the baby carrier seat an easy click in and out. Isofix is just good for morons and people who like to crease leather.

johnny6 · 30 Dec 2017 at 15:04

If it doesn’t have isofix google searching suggests you can get a isofix kit that you can bolt into the car with basic tools.

johnny6 · 30 Dec 2017 at 15:07

Jonnycoupe said:
Yep.

You can get the belt in bases that then offer the baby carrier seat an easy click in and out. Isofix is just good for morons and people who like to crease leather.

You forget women (especially mothers). When our little bundle of joy was born, my wife was insistent that we had to use isofix for the safeties!!!! So much so it had to be on the list of features when I changed my car.

MassiveJim · 30 Dec 2017 at 15:12

we've been using a non-isofix seat base for 3 years (2 children) with no issue whatsoever, once it is strapped in using the seatbelt its going nowhere, and I wouldnt even say it was a particular hassle to install/uninstall either.
I could install it in about a minute (probably less to be honest)

personally I wouldn't worry about it.

HouR · 30 Dec 2017 at 16:26

Jonnycoupe said:
Yep.

You can get the belt in bases that then offer the baby carrier seat an easy click in and out. Isofix is just good for morons and people who like to crease leather.

Sorry but you sound like the moron here.

Have used a seat belted in and on a fixed ISOFIX base I much prefer the ISOFIX solution.
The belted solution was in a Puma which we no longer have and the seat looked no-where near as stable as it does on a proper base.
The seat it easier for me to clip in and out and my wife much prefers it.
Also the leather in my car is fine after a year of having the base in and out between mine and the misses car.

In response to the actual post if it doesnt have ISOFIX you can sometimes buy adaptors for the car.

Jonnycoupe · 30 Dec 2017 at 17:24

It’s an easyness feature rather than safety.
Don’t get your knickers in a twist.

See you’ve totally skipped between a belted seat and the isofix type and missed the belted in base that I suggested. Some cars the anchors are a nightmare to get to hence deform the seat (leather)

roboffer · 30 Dec 2017 at 17:30

It's both ease of use and safety, as it's much harder to make a mistake putting the car seat in using ISOFIX than it is belting it in.

I've retrofitted two to my wife's 59 plate Focus (which should have had it AFAIK), pretty straight forward in theory with a socket set just a little fiddly pulling out seats and awkward angles.

Just bought the adapters from ebay for the right car model and found a guide on YouTube.

snapdragon69 · 30 Dec 2017 at 18:13

We have twins and use the ISOFIX bases which then stays in the cars 95% of the time.
They are maxicosi familyfix bases which also have an adjustable support leg and 3 LEDs and beeper to show 3 levels security are OK and the seats such as cabriofix pr pebble just click onto and off them. The bases are £150 new, but used ones can be had on ebay for £45-55ish and once you wipe with disinfectant is no different than new as it's all hard plastic and metal Seats are about £99 new.
The seats can be fitted without the base using the seatbelt. This is OK, especially for a second car or occasional use, but £50 the bases are a godsend when the babies are asleep or to take the carrier out and put in a supermarket trolly. At motorway speeds I would much rather have ISOFIX than belts and it it is sure to float around with belt slack if you are in a bad crash.

Many cars that didn't come with ISOFIX anchors can be retrofitted using parts fitted to later years, VAG cars for sure.
They usually require removing the seat base and adding an additional bracket on top of the seatbelt mountings.

I don't know much about BMWs but have a look on ebay at these...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...bracket.TRS0&_nkw=bmw+isofix+bracket&_sacat=0

Diddums · 30 Dec 2017 at 18:21

Congrats gramps

Scania · 30 Dec 2017 at 19:55

always late said:
Congrats gramps

Cheers

snapdragon69 said:
I don't know much about BMWs but have a look on ebay at these...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...bracket.TRS0&_nkw=bmw+isofix+bracket&_sacat=0

I've had a good trawl through eBay and Amazon, most BMW's are listed but I'm yet to find something suitable for an e38 7 alas.

I've checked the car and there are no brackets under the seat whatsoever so I'm going to speak to BMW (which my owners manual suggests) because apparently secure anchor points for a child seat can be fitted (at a cost of course) to let me securely mount a seat.
I'm not too keen on using belts if I can help it after an incident when my own daughter was a baby back in 1996, I had a relatively minor bump - which was still enough to write the car off - and the seatbelt detatched from the seat (the bracket on the Brittax seat you fed the belt through snapped) and my daughter ended up on the floor with the seat on top of her - thankfully none the worse for wear - so, you can all understand my desire to have a fixed seat this time around.

Over cautious? perhaps but after my own experience, I'd rather take any precautions I can.

LizardKing · 30 Dec 2017 at 22:17

Scania said:
Cheers

I've had a good trawl through eBay and Amazon, most BMW's are listed but I'm yet to find something suitable for an e38 7 alas.

I've checked the car and there are no brackets under the seat whatsoever so I'm going to speak to BMW (which my owners manual suggests) because apparently secure anchor points for a child seat can be fitted (at a cost of course) to let me securely mount a seat.
I'm not too keen on using belts if I can help it after an incident when my own daughter was a baby back in 1996, I had a relatively minor bump - which was still enough to write the car off - and the seatbelt detatched from the seat (the bracket on the Brittax seat you fed the belt through snapped) and my daughter ended up on the floor with the seat on top of her - thankfully none the worse for wear - so, you can all understand my desire to have a fixed seat this time around.

Over cautious? perhaps but after my own experience, I'd rather take any precautions I can.

Pretty sure the isofix arms are designed to snap in the event of an accident so will offer little above and beyond that of a seatbelt, the ones on my recaros are certainly not beefy enough to withstand anything substantial

get the seat that fit the curves of the seat the best rather than fixating on the isofix as that will be far better imo

edit - congrats on the news btw

peterwalkley · 31 Dec 2017 at 11:00

Congratulations gramps. Only thing I'd add to what's been said already is to put something down as matting between the hard plastic of the sprog seat and the leather. An old towel would do it, just so long as there is something to protect from scrapes when the seat is being attached and also catch snot, puke and other charming things babies emit. You just had it valeted.

Kenai · 31 Dec 2017 at 12:48

Interestingly, reading a bit more, some tests show belt fixed seats to be slightly safer because of the behaviour of the belt and so less transfer of energy into the seat itself compared to the more rigid ISOFIX system.

the_r_sole · 31 Dec 2017 at 14:03

I retrofitted isofix into my Volvo, it was an option at the time of purchase so everything was there for it, pretty simple excercise...
And cheap... But if it's only for occasional use I wouldn't bother tbh, the seatbelts are absolutely fine, my folks have the isofix points in their car but they've not ever used them!